Steinesongo Too many fans seem to be blown away

Matialth Good concept, poorly executed.

Bumpy Chip It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

Brenda The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

Tweekums Akiko works as a call girl in Tokyo; we first meet her in a bar where she is on the phone to her boyfriend. He clearly doesn't trust her as he keeps asking her questions and refuses to believe that she is just with a girlfriend. When she hangs up she returns to talking with a man; he has arranged for her to spend the night with somebody 'important'… she isn't keen to go as she wants to see her grandmother and she has an exam in the morning. Eventually she gives in to the pressure and is driven to the man's house. It turns out he is an elderly retired professor who is more interested in having dinner with her than sleeping with her. The next morning he drives her to university and sees her boyfriend confront her, the boyfriend then approaches the car and, assuming the old man is Akiko's grandfather gets in and talks about his desire to marry Akiko. An awkward situation is averted but later when he learns the old man isn't Akiko's grandfather he gets violent.If you want films to be fast paced them this isn't going to be for you; to say the pace is gentle is an understatement! Director Abbas Kiarostami shows things that don't normally appear in films; the elderly man doses off at traffic lights; this is not a hint that he will cause an accident just an old man feeling tired. Similarly the camera doesn't always show the people we expect it to; we don't see the old man's neighbour as she asks him to move his car and when there is some action it is off screen. Some may find these techniques boring or even pretentious but I found it interesting in the way that it drew me into the story; these felt like real people who one just happens to be watching for a short while. The ending will be a problem for some viewers as well; it certainly came as a shock to me; just as it looks as if something is going to happen it ends so don't expect any resolution. The cast perform well; Rin Takanashi brings a vulnerability to the role of Akiko, Tadashi Okuno is good as Takashi, the old man, and Ryo Kase somehow manages to be threatening but not totally unsympathetic as Akiko's boyfriend Noriaki. Overall I'd recommend this to anybody looking for something a little different.These comments are based on watching the film in Japanese with English subtitles.

bandw This is a drama that takes place in a 24-hour period. In that period we get acquainted with the two main characters--a young Japanese woman, Akiko, and an older man, Mr. Watanabe. Akiko is a student and works as a call girl on the side (or is she a call girl who works as a student on the side?) Mr. Watanabe is a retired sociology professor who, in his 80s, keeps an oar in the water by working on translations.Against her wishes Akiko is asked (actually instructed) to travel some distance from Tokyo to entertain Mr. Watanabe for the evening. By filming scenes in unexpected ways the movie kept my interest in spite of its being slow moving. For example, the opening scene in a bar has a voice-over from Akiko while the camera stays focused on a table other than Akiko's. I expected that the people at the table being viewed would be of interest, but, no. The camera finally focuses on Akiko. I can understand why some people may find the pacing tedious, but most all scenes ring true and with each scene we learn a little more about the characters. Much is communicated non-verbally, like a bored yawn from Akiko or Watanabe's dozing off while waiting in traffic but running down three flights of stairs like a young man in an urgent situation. Many scenes take place in cars, for example there is a scene in a taxi where Akiko listens to seven messages on her answering machine. We learn from that scene that there is a third important person, Noriaki, who is Akiko's boyfriend. Well, he seems to want to be her boyfriend to the point of marriage, but Akiko's feelings for Noriaki remain somewhat of a mystery. In fact Akiko remains somewhat of a mystery. Her grandmother is in town and wants to visit, but Akiko ignores her phone requests and then cries over why she is reacting that way. Akiko seems to know she is behaving like an ass, but persists in it. The night that Akiko spends with Mr. Watanabe does not play out in any way that I could have imagined--I was left to provide some details on that.I found the non-traditional storytelling refreshing. This is a film equivalent of a short story driven by character development. And, like a good short story, its ending packs a punch.P.S. Noriaki should patent his process for replacing timing belts on Volvos--he accomplishes in ten minutes what usually takes hours.

politic1983 Crossing cultures and language barriers is something happening more and more in cinema, with well-known directors establishing their name for making films from their homeland, looking abroad to try out their skills in a different culture. With 'Like Someone to Love', Iranian director Abbas Kiarostami heads to Japan to work with a Japanese cast and crew to look at the concept of love from various different angles and perspectives. Akiko, a young student working as a prostitute, ignores both her grandmother and fiancé to let herself be talked into working the night before an exam. But her client, an aging academic, seems more to simply want an evening's company than full sex with a woman. Seeing her off to her exam the next morning, both Akiko and her client, Takashi, are left to deal with the consequences of her deceit. 'Like Someone in Love' is a film that is lacking in many respects, but indulgent in others. Various plot holes leave the audience having to make their own deductions as to how things developed, rather than making it clear on watching. Time that could have been spent on this is instead spent on lengthy shots with little actual action. The first two scenes consist of one half of an extended phone conversation, followed by a close up of Akiko in the back of a taxi listening to all seven of her voicemail messages. With this the case, the audience can be forgiven for thinking that the next two hours will be excruciatingly long. The film, despite lacking in plot, is more an analysis of the different relationships Akiko has with the people in her life: her dutiful grandmother, whom she ignores; her prone-to-aggression fiancé, Noriaki, whom she deceives; and her client, the aging Takashi, whom she turns to in crisis. The most likable of the three main characters is Takashi, whose bumbling around Akiko provide some humour and his earnest assistance to her show him to simply be a kind man that is lonely. His discussion with Noriaki is perhaps the film's most important, indicating that neither Noriaki and Akiko are ready for marriage. But while humour and wisdom come from Takashi in parts, other flaws lead 'Like Someone to Love' to miss as much as it hits. While the question is asked as to what Akiko sees in Noriaki, the question could also be asked with the roles reversed, with the only good relationship Akiko appearing to have one with someone she has known less than 24 hours, making her less of an appealing character than required in the lead; coming across more as a spoiled brat than abused victim. The sudden development in Noriaki's anger requires assumptions to be made rather than good storytelling. The intentional sudden and abrupt ending shows the problems that misguided love has brought the trio to, and in that sense the film works in getting its point across. Though one could argue that Kiarostami takes too long to get there. Having made many shorts in the past, perhaps 'Like Someone to Love' would have been better made in a much shorter format, with the idea good, but the execution, like the film's characters, somewhat misguided and indulgent.

fstewart48 Well this seems to be the ultimate 'Marmite' movie, that is, you will either love it or hate it. Personally, I loved it - but then I am willing to invest time and patience in a very languorous, slow-moving movie when it's done in the right way. A previous reviewer mentioned that he thought that 'Once Upon a Time in Anatolia' was more successful in its use of the slow burn. I felt myself that once that excellent movie moved back to the city it lost that mystical intrigue and bordered on the ponderous. If I have any criticism of 'Like Someone in Love' it is that I wanted it to go on longer! Most people have mentioned that the abrupt ending comes so unexpectedly and so swiftly that it feels to some like they've been cheated. I can understand that point of view as you want to know how things pan out (and you DON'T) but I don't think Kiarostami is interested in narrative structure in the way that Hollywood would insist upon. His interest lies in identity and concealment and how our behaviour and persona are affected by our relationships with others. And there are not many countries where the real self is more consistently hidden beneath a veneer than Japan.All in all, I was mesmerised, (partly due to the physical beauty of Rin Takanashi and the fragility of her character. The phone message sequence in the taxi is absolutely heartbreaking.) The look of the film had me transfixed also; the reflections on glass windows and the deliberate physical compartmentalisation of the characters was such a vital part of the film's meaning and was also aesthetically beautiful.I can't wait to see it again but I know others may feel differently.